The advisory committee charged with creating a recovery plan for the York City School District heard an overview of the district at its first meeting Wednesday night. The 20 members also shared some of their hopes and concerns for the committee, with concerns about money and charter schools being a main focus.

"This is not a business. This is about kids," David Meckley said. The state appointed Meckley as chief recovery officer in December when the school district was declared in financial recovery.

Meckley, with the help of the committee and PFM Group, a financial management company, will form a plan that then has to be approved by the York City School Board. Meckley said he sees the plan having three components: a sound education program, health and safety for students and a sustainable business model.

If the board does not approve the plan within a year the state can appoint a receiver. The state requires the plan to be completed by March 12, but Meckley said that date seems "a month shy."

"It's likely we'll apply for an extension so that at the April board meeting I can submit it to the board and they can vote in May," Meckley said.

The hour-long presentation Wednesday night included budget numbers, enrollment, district demographics, comparisons between York City schools and other districts, comparisons between the district and charter and technology schools, discipline incident numbers, an overview of the district's teaching model and K-8 program, employee turnover, contract expiration dates and the district's debt structure.

Advertisement

Meckley also presented a scorecard for the committee to further define and use to create the recovery plan. The first item listed on the scorecard is the enrollment of eligible students. Of the 7,907 eligible students living in the district, 4,708 attend York City schools and 2,472 students attend charter schools.

According to Director of Business and Finance Richard Snodgrass, about $3 million of the district's projected budget deficit is attributed to more students moving to charter schools than anticipated.

"We need to promote our district. It's the best kept secret, apparently," Kim Schwarz said, president of the York City Education Association and a teacher in the district for 23 years. York City School Board President Margie Orr and Kate Orban, superintendent for York Suburban School District, also voiced concerns about charter schools.

"I'd like the parents in the community to know when they advertise free tuition, that's their tax dollars. And they're gleaning off our brightest students and not providing the same quality of education," Orban said.

The district is located in a low-income area. Compared to area districts that have between 17 and 27 percent enrollment from low-income families, York City's enrollment is 90 percent. The district also faces a projected budget deficit of almost $9.5 million for the 2013-14 school year and has $135,978,713 in debt, the payments for which make up 10.3 percent of the district's budget.

"The task we have with the finances is huge," Curtis Tribue, committee member, said. "The central element here is about money."

The committee will develop more specific goals at its Feb. 13 meeting. A public forum will be at the York City School District Administration Building on Feb. 4 at 6 p.m.

"If anyone can make it, this district and community can make it," Ken Phillips, community member, said. For more information, go to ycsdrecoveryplan.org.

NEW YORK (AP) — Viewers said farewell to Amy Poehler and the gang of Pawnee, Indiana, bureaucrats on NBC's "Parks and Recreation," in a finale that made more of a dent online than on television. Full Story